As per a report from Paul Hirst of the Times, Manchester United will use the funds from the sales of a pair of defenders to push for a deal for Leicester City’s Harry Maguire.
Highly-regarded
Maguire, a 25-year-old central defender, only made the move to the King Power Stadium from Hull City last summer, following a stellar debut campaign in the Premier League with the Tigers.
Maguire was widely praised not only for his defensive traits, highlighted by a burly 6ft4 inch frame, but also for his abilities on the ball during his time at the KCOM Stadium, with Leicester having beaten off the competition of a number of other English top-flight clubs to eventually secure the stopper’s signature for an initial fee of £12 million.
And, following his most impressive club campaign to date this past season, backed by a superb showing for England at this summer’s World Cup in Russia, Maguire’s star has only continued its rapid ascent, with reports in the English media over the last couple of days having suggested that Manchester United were considering a move for the Sheffield United youth product.
SAMARA, RUSSIA – JULY 07: Harry Maguire of England scores his team’s first goal during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Quarter Final match between Sweden and England at Samara Arena on July 7, 2018 in Samara, Russia. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Hefty valuation
In addition, a report from Sky Sports News this past Thursday revealed that United had subsequently taken their interest in Maguire a step further, by making initial contact with Leicester over his signature.
Red Devils’ boss Jose Mourinho is known to be on the lookout for central defensive reinforcements this summer, with the report having even gone as far as to claim that Manchester United value Maguire at around £65 million.
Departures imminent
And, as per the aforementioned report from The Times’ Paul Hirst this morning, the Premier League powerhouse are ready to fund a deal for Maguire by parting ways with a pair of the club’s current defensive options.
The first name on the for sale list of United will come as no surprise, in the form of versatile Italian full-back Matteo Darmian.
28-year-old Darmian majorly struggled for game-time at Old Trafford this past season, with United reportedly seeking a fee of £17-18 million for his signature, amid interest from the likes of Juventus and Inter Milan.
And the second stopper possibly set to depart Manchester over the coming weeks is Marcos Rojo.
Hirst’s report this morning claims that, though Rojo was excluded from Manchester United’s pre-season USA tour partly due to a slight injury that he is carrying following his World Cup ventures with Argentina, another key reason was that the stopper does not feature in the plans of Jose Mourinho for the upcoming season.
The former Sporting CP man would set his suitors back a fee of around £20 million, with Wolverhampton Wanderers said to be monitoring the situation.
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